The two and a half faces of Phoebe
by inchacha
Summary: AU Phoebe's spell has a far more different result than in episode, in the form of a teenager from the future. Ready to do anything to assure her parents' happiness, there is no stopping her. Nothing is mine except for one Victoria Turner.
1. Chapter 1

**The two and a half faces of Phoebe**

**Chapter 1**

This day was going from strange to stranger for Phoebe Halliwell and she didn't understand why that was. Her life should be less complicated now: the Source was gone and she was engaged to a wonderful man.

But the man in question was making things difficult. He had been avoiding her and that was confusing. Instead of them being happy and organizing their upcoming wedding, they were drifting apart. She came to the point of wondering if she should really go with this wedding.

She had a bad feeling about all this. There was something wrong going on but she just couldn't put her finger on it. The worst part was that she had the impression that Cole had some big part to play in it. His avoidance just helped strengthen that theory up.

The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that magic was the means to getting the answer she needed to get through this.

Later that day, Phoebe stood over the cauldron, the piece of paper on which she had written her question in her hand. Even if Piper agreed with her, she had debated a long time if she should do this; fter all magic had a way of backfiring, especially in this family.

But she needed to know. That was the most important thing right now. Her future depended on it. With that thought, she made her mind and burned the paper as she recited the spell.

_My body is strong and my spirit weak_

_It is an answer that I seek_

_The question burns within this fire_

_So I may hear my heart's desire_

She finished just in time for her sisters and brother in law to come into the room and make her turn around to face them.

A gust of wind was heard from behind Phoebe and everyone turned to stare at it. When the fog lifted up, they were shocked to find in its place, a little girl of about ten years old and a teenager who looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old and had headphones on. She was dancing to the music only she could hear.

When the teenager realized that she wasn't where she had formerly been, she looked up at the audience. "Oh." She looked around her in confusion. "What's going on?"

"That's an excellent question!"

Everyone turned questioning eyes t Phoebe. "Phoebe?"

She stuttered, about to give an explanation but got interrupted. "Phoebe? That's my name too."

The little girl was confused and very scared. Her declaration generated even greater shocks around the room, especially from her apparently adult self.

Suddenly, the teenager got a smug look on her face. "Oooh, I smell personal gain here." And then she tut-ed. "I'm never going to let you live this one down."

The witch for whom the statement was directed got nervous. "Wh-who are you?"

"Oh, isn't it obvious? I thought you would have guessed by now." She only got raised eyebrows and blank looks from her audience. "Guess everyone is lying when they say I'm the spitting image of my mother."

Her muttered words did nothing but further confuse them and she sighed, resigned. She approached Phoebe and faced her directly. "My name is Victoria, Vicky for short. I am your daughter… well, future daughter apparently." She grinned at her reaction.

The others looked at her, mouths agape, not knowing what to think or say of the situation.

"Oh boy."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The attic was silent after the revelations from the time-traveling newcomers. The residents of the house shouldn't have been surprised considering their life-style but they were.

"Who- who are you people? And how did I get up here?" Little Phoebe was close to tears and backing up to the back of the attic.

"You don't have to be scared of us honey, everything is gonna be ok." Seeing as her reassurance wasn't working, Phoebe turned to Piper. "Any ideas?"

Piper was bemused. "I-It's your spell, don't look at me!"

"Yeah but it was your idea!"

The oldest Halliwell stuttered, waving her pointing finger at Phoebe, trying to stop her from revealing that bit of news to their baby sister but it was too late.

"Excuse me?!"

It seemed that Vicky was the only person still aware that there was someone else in the room and what they were doing. "Hey people! Someone's about to jump to her death and I think you better stop her!"

"Wow, sweetie. Hey, come here." Phoebe was just in time to effectively stop the little girl from climbing out the window. "Listen, hi. I… can explain." She took the hands of the little girl in hers and crouched down to her height. "You… are… dreaming."

"Dreaming!"

"Yes, dreaming." She sent a glare at Piper. "And, you're gonna wake up in your room. And-and everything is gonna be fine."

The explanation seemed a little far stretched for everyone, even the ten year old.

"I'm ten. I'm not stupid!" With that, little Phoebe ran off to the door, almost slamming into Cole on her way. "Graaams!"

Piper covered her ears. "Wow. I did not miss that!"

"What's going on?"

"Cole?"

He turned confused eyes to the shocked teenager he hadn't noticed until then. "Who are you?"

She stalked over to him, looking murderous. "Maybe this will give you an idea!" With that, she gave him a slap that resonated into the whole room.

Phoebe gasped in shock while her sisters and brother in law looked amused.

As for Cole, he flexed his jaw, completely lost on what was going on. He had gone out earlier to try and clear his head off the Source only to come back and have some strange teen just slap him out of the blue. If the headache wasn't going to kill him, this would. He didn't even know who she was!

Phoebe placed herself between her fiancé and future daughter, flabbergasted. "Wh-what was that about?!"

"Ask him!"

Leo interrupted the rather confusing discussion. "Um, maybe we should go look for little Phoebe before she escapes into 2002?"

His wife was quick to follow on the plan and addressed Phoebe. "Yes, we will do that and you, take care of your future daughter and fix this, fast."

"Future daughter?" Cole turned confused eyes to his fiancée.

"Don't forget the demon!"

"Demon? What demon?"

"We were attacked downstairs. Paige?"

"I'm on it."

Cole eyed Vicky, suspicious. "How did she get here?"

"I-uhm… I cast a spell, to hear my deepest desire and I guess my past self and… future daughter came here to help me listen."

He shot a fleeting glance toward Vicky and concentrated on Phoebe. "And what desire did you wanna hear?"

"Well, that's between me and future girl here. Excuse us."

She hurriedly took Vicky's hand and dragged her away.

Once she came up to Cole, Vicky sent him a smirk. "Worried?"

Cole was left alone in the attic with Paige who was flipping through the Book of Shadows.

Paige had her back to him. "Could you help me with this? We're looking for a powerful demon who can reconstitute himself like the Source. Anyone come to mind? Cole?" She looked back and found herself alone in the room. "Huh. That's weird."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Phoebe found herself with her future daughter in her room. She had come for answers but the teen was doing a great job of avoiding the subject by perusing the room and her mother's possessions. She looked on as Vicky picked up a top that she had found on the bed.

The teen chuckled to herself, shaking her head. "And to think you scold me every time I wear a top like this. You and I will have an interesting discussion when I get back home."

Her mother's eyes widened. "Oh, I don't think so. I'm sure it must be worse than this if I give you such a hard time." She ripped the top of clothing form her hands.

"If you say so." Vicky moved onto the content of the vanity. "This is so weird. I know I'm in the past but still, your stuff are old. Look at that!"

Another top was torn from Vicky's fingers. "It's not old!"

But the teen's attention had already moved on. "Oooh look at that! You were sooo cute when you were a baby!"

Phoebe had enough and she took the photo album from her. "Why don't you stop the chit-chat and tell me what's going on? I don't have time for games! There is a demon-"

"You don't need to talk to me about demons. I know plenty about them!"

The teen had interrupted her with an air so blasé that Phoebe wondered if they were talking about the same thing.

"Ok." She calmed down, letting out a breath. "Then please tell me what you know about Cole. Look, I'm about to marry him and I have this… really bad feeling. Do you know anything about that?"

"Oh yeah, I know. You told me the story plenty of times." Her voice took on a soft tone and Phoebe felt hope rise up in her. But the sensation was cut short with the next words. "But I won't change the past."

"No but this isn't the past, this is the present!"

The argument was quickly shot down. "Your present, _my_ past. Honestly haven't you seen _Back to the future_? So many things could go wrong, including my birth!"

Phoebe gave her a look. "I don't see how seeing as Cole is not your father."

Vicky crossed her arms across her chest and glared at her, suddenly defensive. "And how do you know he's not?"

Not one to be taken down, Phoebe mimicked her posture. "If Cole was your father, you wouldn't have slapped him."

The two of them had a staring contest for a moment before Vicky broke it and looked away.

Phoebe approached her. "Please, tell me what happened. The spell wouldn't have worked if you weren't allowed to tell me."

"_Never use a spell to decide what to do. Not only is it personal gain but it could always go wrong_."

Phoebe looked at her inquisitively with a raised eyebrow.

"Those are your words. You always tell me that when I'm tempted to use magic to solve my problems so I don't see any need to help you do it now."

"But this is different!"

This time, it was Vicky who had enough. "Just ask Leo to send me back home as soon as possible."

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"Because I'm staying right here, out of the path of history." When Phoebe opened her mouth to argue, she cut him off. "And don't argue with me. You don't know it but I'm much more stubborn than you."

Phoebe scoffed at that before deciding to leave with the photo album in her hands. "Yeah."

As soon as the past version of her mother left, Vicky decided it was time to make a move. She had little time and a long plan to put into practice.

She hadn't lied when she told her mother that she didn't want to change the past. But there were things she just couldn't let happen. Technically, it wasn't changing time, just making sure that other things happened early, that's all. That way, she would spare her mother and father years of pain. This was for the good of everyone.

She locked the room just to make sure that no one would know that she had left. She needed to see a few demons for her plan to come into fruition. Vicky gave the room a last look and then quietly faded from it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

A few hours later, Vicky was walking in the underworld with purpose in her steps. She knew her way around, having had to come down plenty of times before.

It wasn't long before she came to the entrance of the Seer's lair. She ducked behind a wall when she heard voices coming from inside. The male voice was unmistakably Cole's and the female one couldn't be anyone's but the Seer's.

She listened carefully for the moment she could go in. The right moment came when the lair became quiet. Vicky went in quietly and spotted the resident demon in the middle of the room, with her back to her.

"I was expecting you."

The teen smirked. "I'm sure you were." She looked around. "So, this is the home of the big, bad Seer?" A shrug and then a sniff. "Not very original for a demon."

"You know, you're very insolent for one so young and in dangerous territory."

Vicky beamed at that. "Thank you. You know, that's a compliment coming from you. And I'm far from being afraid of you."

The Seer eyed her, not really convinced of her bravery. "But you should be. I'm much more powerful than you and I've been here for over a thousand years."

"Yeah and you got quite rusty because of those years. You should really think of retiring, you know?." The Seer gave her a look that asked for further explanation. "You say you were expecting me but I know that was a lie. You didn't know until mere seconds before I stepped foot in here. I know because that was my doing."

The Seer laughed at how absurd the idea was.

"You don't actually believe that you're the only magical being to possess the gift of the sight, do you?" That stopped the laughing. Vicky smirked at the demon. "You may know who my mother is but I can assure you, I'm nothing like her."

"On the contrary. You coming here on your own tells me just how much of your mother is in you."

"Oh, I think you got me wrong. I'm not denying my resemblance to my mother. It's just that I've got that little bit more than that. I got it from my father."

The Seer stayed silent. "Well? Aren't you going to ask?"

"Ask what?"

"Who my father is of course! I think you chose to ignore it because you are afraid of who it could be."

The Seer sniffed arrogantly. "I hardly see how I would be afraid of an insignificant man who chose to breed with a Charmed One."

"Well, that's where you're wrong because you see, he's not any man." She smiled triumphantly. "Actually, I'm the living proof that your plan fails because my father is a kind and loving husband and father. See, nothing of the cold blooded murderer you want him to become now."

The Seer was boiling inside at learning that but didn't let it bother her for long. "Well, since you've been so kind as to tell me that then I should just be careful and make sure that never happens!"

"Nah uh." Vicky shook her head. "Wrong again. I'm the one here to prevent you from turning him into the Source. I'm not afraid of changing the past: I'll stop you, no matter what."

The threat had no effect whatsoever on the Seer. "It doesn't matter anyway. You don't have the power to vanquish me."

That got the teen's left eyebrow to go up. "Really? Tell me what you think of this then."

Quicker than the Seer could react, Vicky threw a potion vial at her. Nothing happened for a long moment and the worried look on the Seer's face disappeared to be replaced with a triumphant one. She was about to make a smart comment but then, she felt her insides getting hot.

Vicky looked on, her face blank as the Seer writhed on the spot before she exploded. It wasn't what she had expected. For a demon a millennia old, she thought some fireworks would be the minimum. Oh well, maybe her expectations were too high. There was still much left to do.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chaper 5**

Vicky faded back into the Halliwell manor just in time for the battle. She didn't need to analyze things. Having arrived in between the sisters and the two struggling demons, she was sure to have made an entrance. But she couldn't gloat for that yet.

"Stop!" But that didn't work and she wasn't surprised. She had said it just for the sake of things but the cunning demon that was Kurzon wouldn't take orders from anyone, let alone a witch as young as her. Vicky sent a high powered energy ball his way.

Kurzon exploded into millions of black pieces. They swirled on the spot for a moment and then made to reform back into Kurzon. Vicky took advantage of that to wave her hand and once the demon had reformed, he found himself trapped into a crystal cage.

Kurzon raged into the cage when he realized what happened. He had been tricked by a mere little girl!

"Nice trick!" Piper praised and her sisters nodded in agreement. She then searched her pocket and took out a piece of paper. "Quick, we have to say the spell."

"No! Not yet."

Phoebe frowned. "What do you mean _not yet_?"

"I still need him."

This time, it was Piper who questioned the teen's logic. "What could you possibly need a demon for?"

"Because she's a demon." Every eye turned to Paige at her declaration. "I saw her shimmer in. And she sent an energy ball at Kurzon! I don't think she's your daughter, Phoebe. She tricked us into thinking she was."

Vicky rolled her eyes at Paige. "You don't change, aunt Paige. No matter your age, you're still a sarcastic and prejudiced witch."

"Hey! Don't talk to your aunt like that." Piper paused. "Well, if she truly is your aunt."

"Oh I don't like it anymore than she does, believe me."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

Vicky ignored Paige's affronted voice and stretched her hand toward Piper. "Anyway. I can't let you vanquish him yet."

The paper on which the spell to vanquish Kurzon was written disappeared from Piper's hand to hers.

Piper wasn't happy about that. "Hey, that's stealing!"

Cole made himself known again at that moment. "What are you doing?"

Vicky's attention returned to him then. With a sharp wave of a hand, another crystal cage formed, this time around Cole.

"Oy! What's that for?"

"Don't worry, mom. I know what I'm doing."

Piper took over. "Which is what, exactly?" She was ignored. "Don't ignore me young lady!"

When the sisters made to approach her, Vicky lifted a hand, palm directed at the Charmed Ones. They were surprised to find an invisible barrier preventing them from moving further. A quick inspection revealed that there was no way out from all sides. Paige discovered it the hard way when she tried to orb out only to bounce several times into a wall before being thrown onto the floor.

All the while, Vicky had been staring into the shocked eyes of one Cole Turner. "You know?"

She gave a soft laugh. "Yeah. Sorry about the slap earlier. I couldn't let him know who I am."

He nodded. "Smart plan. He still doesn't know… and neither do I"

Vicky came and stood right in front of him. "Look at me… really look at me."

Cole did as she asked and stared into her eyes. After he found what he was looking for, he then took in her face. He then realized how he had been blinded by the pain the Source inflicted on him before. The nose, the lips… everything screamed Phoebe but those eyes, they were all him.

"I'm going to help you get him out."

Cole shook his head. "I don't know if that's even possible."

"Yes it is. I got the idea from a very trusted source, no pun intended."

He too smiled at the joke. "Who was that?"

"You." That came out as a surprise. Vicky once again looked into his eyes. "Do you trust me?"

"You know I do."

"Ok." She took a deep breath to ready herself.

Phoebe was fed up of being left out of the loop of her fiancé's life. "Ok. What the hell is going on?"

"I'm simply correcting your mistake."

"Quit the cryptic! We already get enough of that with the Elders."

"I know your husband is a destined to be one of them, aunt Piper but please don't compare me to those pompous gits. Now, you three shut up, I have work to do."

"You'll have to be quick." Vicky turned around and found Cole crouched to his hunches, holding his head in pain. "He knows what you're trying to do and he's not happy!"

She took a deep breath in. "Ok, ok. Let's do this."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chaper 6**

Vicky turned her attention to the spot behind the sisters. To everyone's but the teen's surprise, a demon was standing there with a big black book in his hands. He looked human enough but his black robes gave his demon status away.

"What did I tell you? She's even letting more demons into the manor!"

"Shut up Paige!"

With another wave of the hand, the witch in question found herself mute.

Vicky went to Kurzon. "I know you want to be the new Source and that the Seer tricked you into attacking the Charmed Ones but I have another option for you."

"What do you want witch?" His reluctance was all over his face.

"I'm going to help you get what you want: become the Source."

A chorus of "what?" was heard from the two sisters that still had a voice but they were ignored.

"So, what do you say? I give you the power and you get the hell out of here."

"Who's to say that you'll let me go?"

"You have my word." Seeing that it wasn't enough, she elaborated. "Think about it: with the power you already have, the sisters already have a hard time vanquishing you. It's hard but they still have the spell to do it."

For further proof, she showed him said spell she had taken from Piper. With only the power of her mind, the paper became ash. "Without the spell plus the Source's power, you are invincible."

Kurzon took a moment to think it over. "Ok. I'm in. But don't think you can trick me."

"Wouldn't dream on it." Vicky then gave the wizard a nod to begin with their plan.

The sisters weren't the only ones that were wondering where one so young could have known where to find a wizard when they were thought to be instinct.

They had no choice but to look on, powerless to prevent it in any way. They didn't even know what was taking place in their own home!

As for Vicky, she was biting her nails, hoping that her plan would work. If it didn't, she didn't know what would. But it was the only thing she could think of to get rid of the Source.

She was thankful to her father for always telling her and her siblings everything that happened in their parent's past. The Charmed Ones didn't like it but Cole refused to hide anything from his children, wanting them to learn from their parents' past mistakes and to never repeat them. If Piper and Paige wanted to "shield" their kids from the true world, then that was their problem. Here Vicky had the proof of how right her father was.

She forced herself to ignore his screams, proof of how much the Source was fighting to stay where he was and thus hurting her father. She had to tell herself over and over again that this was for the good of everyone, especially her family. That was the only thought that kept her from running over to him and taking him in her arms.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to her, a black mist rose from Cole's mouth and eyes to enter Kurzon's. After that, everything stopped. Vicky went to Cole and kicked one of the crystals away, breaking the cage. She crouched down on the floor beside him and passed her hand over his forehead. He was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.

Her hand paused over his head and she closed her eyes, concentrating. A while later, she opened her eyes and breathed in relief: it worked!

Vicky stood up and approached the wizard first. "It is done."

"Yes, it is. Thank you."

The wizard closed the Grimoire and bowed to her. "Then I will take my leave."

"Wait a minute?"

The wizard stopped mid-shimmer. He found himself unable to move and before he knew it, he was on the receiving end of the massive energy ball the teen had been gathering in her hands that tore him to pieces. The Grimoire dropped to the floor with the disappearance of its holder.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Everyone was alerted to the other demon's presence in the room when they heard an evil chuckling.

"What have you done?" Phoebe's voice croaked the words in fear.

"You were right, little witch. I feel the power coursing through me." He lifted his arms off, inhaling deeply. "Now, let me go."

"Oh, sorry. Can't let that happen."

"We had a deal!" He roared, attempting to get out.

"Yeah, yeah, I know we did but, guess what? I lied."

Kurzon was furious at the betrayal. "You can't do this to me. I am the Source of all evil!"

She rolled her eyes. "Yadda, yadda, yadda."

"You don't have the power to vanquish me anyway so, you better let me out of here before you get hurt."

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm not a Halliwell so I don't need some power of three to vanquish you. That is so overrated."

Kurzon scowled at the pretense. If the Charmed Ones didn't scare him, a child wouldn't.

Vicky gave him a smirk and then started chanting a spell very familiar to the Charmed Ones.

_Penelope, Patricia, Prudence, Melinda_

_Astrid, Helena, Laura and Grace_

"No, no. This can't be happening!" Kurzon started to protest as his members started to catch on fire.

Vicky was undeterred by the yelling and went on with the spell.

_Halliwell witches stand together beside us_

_Vanquish this evil from time and space._

It wasn't long before fire consumed the demon entirely and exploded with a big bang. Vicky stared at the spot he had been for a moment and then turned her back to it. She waved a hand and the Charmed Ones were free of their holding cell.

All three were shocked, Phoebe the most. "What… what was that all about?"

Vicky was once again on the floor besides Cole, stroking his hair out of his forehead. "Getting rid of a nuisance."

"Cole was the Source. I knew it! The demon couldn't resist a raise on the demonic ranks."

Vicky closed her eyes, counting to ten to calm herself. "Paige, I suggest you stop talking about things you don't understand."

"Oh, I understand perfectly fine. He didn't like not having powers so he accepted to become the next Source of all evil!" Next thing she knew, Paige was thrown into a wall.

"Paige!" Piper ran to her sister's side and helped her up.

As for Phoebe, she was shocked by the teen's outburst. "What was that for?"

"I warned her. She had no right to insult my father. Considering it was your fault this happened in the first place, none of you get to criticize him!"

Phoebe stood rooted to the spot, staring at the spot her daughter and fiancé disappeared from. She had a hard time believing her ears. Had her daughter just given her a lecture?

Paige rubbed her head, grimacing at how hurt it was. "Oww. I think you should give that daughter of yours a serious talk about respecting her elders, Phoebe."

"Yeah and she should know how bad it is to use her powers on family," Piper added, shooting a look at Phoebe. "I'm surprised she doesn't know that already."

"Hey, don't give me that look. I didn't do anything… yet. Anyway, she's young and you know how moody teenagers can get. She just got defensive of her father!"

"No wonder she's so much of a handful with the father she has."

Piper was shocked beyond belief. "Paige!"

"What?"

"She's your niece!"

"A niece that threw me against the wall as if I was some common demon!"

"Speaking of, where did they go?"

Phoebe looked up at the question. "I have no idea."

Piper shook her head. Things were going out of hand. "Leo!"

The whitelighter arrived in a shower of blue orbs, accompanied by little Phoebe. "Is it safe?"

"Yeah, can you heal Paige, pleas?"

Leo hurried over to heal his sister in law as his wife asked. "What about the two of you? You didn't get hurt in the fight?"

Paige didn't give her older sisters a chance to answer. "There was no fight, Leo… at least not with us."

That got the whitelighter confused. "I thought you got rid of Kurzon. How did you get hurt, then?"

"Oh, we got rid of him alright. We just didn't get any action in the vanquish."

Leo furrowed his brow at his wife's comment. "Wait a minute; Kurzon couldn't have been vanquished without the power of three. How did it happen?"

"With the intervention of our demonic niece."

"What?"

"Ok, that's enough! Leo, take little Phoebe back home and we'll talk about this later." Once her husband was out of sight, Piper turned to her sisters. "We don't know where Vicky is or what she's up to so we need to find a way to locate her."

Paige shrugged. "We don't have anything of hers to scry with."

"I'll work on a spell," Phoebe said tiredly. "I need to take my mind off things for a while." She left and went up the stairs for the attic.

The other two watched her go in concern. "You were really hard on her, Paige."

"What do you mean? I didn't say anything about her! And anyway, it was all true."

Piper sighed. "Paige, Phoebe has been worried these past few days about something being wrong with Cole and then her daughter being here; none of us even wondered who her father was, which is weird because all the signs were right before us. She's hurting because she didn't see it coming and your comments do nothing but blaming her for everything."

The youngest Halliwell sister had the decency to look regretful. Looking back, she realized how insensitive all her comments had been. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just, I've never trusted Cole and I was proven right not an hour ago."

"It's not me you should apologize to." Just then, Leo orbed back in, sans little Phoebe. "Hey. Is little Phoebe safely home?"

"Yeah, she is. Now, why don't you two tell me what's been going on?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Piper, Paige and Leo were sitting at the dining room table with a cup of tea each. The girls had just finished explaining to Leo what had happened earlier with the demons of the day.

"So, you're telling me that Cole was the Source?" Leo clarified, getting nods in return. "How didn't any of us see this?"

"More importantly, how didn't the Elders see it?"

"I don't think they knew, Piper."

She outraged. "We've been living with the Source of all evil under our home for god knows how long and you're telling me they didn't know? That's hard to believe!"

Her husband frowned, disapproving the obvious accusation. "They're not all knowing, you know?"

"Try useless."

Leo chose to ignore Paige's words and just went on as if she hadn't talked. "Anyway, the Source is strong and he probably used it to block anyone from knowing he was back."

"Like Phoebe's premonitions." The others looked at her for further information. "Phoebe told me that she had this weird feeling, as if she was getting a premonition but it refused to come out. Guess that was the Source's doing."

"None of us saw the changes in him."

They all stayed silent, thinking how that was possible. They had let their guard down, thinking they were safe after finally defeating the Source. But they were wrong and he had been with them all along.

"I wonder how Phoebe is doing with the spell?"

Leo felt out of the loop. "What spell?"

"Vicky disappeared with Cole without saying where she was taking him. Phoebe's trying to come up with a locating spell."

He nodded in understanding. That made sense.

Paige had an idea. "Hey Leo? Maybe you can sense for her?"

The two sisters observed as he closed his eyes in concentration, like they had always seen him do when trying to sense for a charge. After a long while, he shook his head.

"Nothing. For some reason I can't sense her, which doesn't make sense."

"Maybe that's because she's a demon?"

The whitelighter rejected the idea. "No. Even if she's part demon, if she's Phoebe's daughter then I should be able to sense her anyway."

Paige's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Then that could only mean one thing."

But Piper was already shaking her head furiously in refusal. "No. Whether or not she's Phoebe's child remains to be seen but she's definitely a Halliwell. No one but a Halliwell could use the magic she used to vanquish Kurzon as the Source: our own magic and spell, Paige."

Still, that didn't prove anything for Paige. "The powers she displayed had nothing to do with witch powers, Piper. They were unnatural, like only those demons can possess!"

Piper was defeated. "We'll never be sure of anything unless the girl herself tells us everything."

Paige scoffed. "As if she would tell us the truth!"

"To you, maybe not. But she's most likely to tell me or Phoebe." She eyed her baby sister, thinking over what she was going to say. "I'm worried for you, Paige. When I saw how easy and instinctive it was for that girl to shove you against the wall like that, I get the impression that maybe it wasn't the first time for her."

"Like I said, she needs to be taught some manners!"

"Paige, she's your niece: Phoebe's daughter."

She frowned, wary of what her sister was trying to say. "Where are you going with this, Piper?"

"From what I could see, that girl adores her father. You antagonizing or disrespecting him gets to her each time! I don't even want to think what that must do to Phoebe in the future."

"It's not my fault she decided to get with a demon and to have his brat!"

Seeing Piper give up on trying to get to Paige, Leo decided to intervene. "I think what Piper is trying to tell you is that for the sake of your relationship with your sister, it's better that you show a little less hostility towards Cole."

Paige looked at them as if they had grown two heads. "Phoebe wouldn't choose him over her sister."

"Are you sure of that? Prue and Phoebe had gone head to head over this and several times. Phoebe's solution was to lie to her sisters and Prue's to ignore her. In the end, it almost cost them their relationship until Prue admitted that it was better to let Phoebe live her life as she wanted and support her in her decisions. And she knew Prue a lot longer than you."

Paige's gaze dropped to the floor. Why couldn't any of them understand that she was only looking out for her sister's well being? Cole had been a powerful demon for over a century and he obviously missed it when he lost his powers or he wouldn't have chosen to become the Source.

She shook her head in defeat: she couldn't win on this. They were all too blind on what was really going on here.

"I'm going to ask the Elders about the situation anyway."

"You do that."

Phoebe came down the stairs just in time to see Leo's orbs fade away, looking worn out. "Where is he going?"

"To talk to the Elders." Piper eyed her sister in worry. "Did you come up with a spell?"

She shook her head in the positive. "Yeah. But it didn't do any good. However different I twisted the words, it never worked. I don't get it."

That gave Piper a thought. "Leo couldn't sense her either. Maybe she doesn't want to be found."

"I don't know. I just… I don't know anything!"

Piper rubbed her back in comfort. "Don't worry. I'm sure she'll come back soon. I mean, she'll need help to find a way back home sooner or later?"

The Charmed Ones looked up when they heard footsteps coming down from the stairs. They were surprised when none other than the subject of their discussion came into view.

Vicky seemed to sense all the looks on her because she stopped dead on her tracks and looked up. "What?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Vicky still stood at the foot of the stairs with three pairs of eyes staring at her. She looked down at herself, wondering if there was something wrong with her look that would warrant such attention from her mother and aunts.

"What?!"

All of Phoebe's pent up emotions came up then. "Where have you been? We looked for you everywhere; you better have an explanation for taking off like that without even telling me where you were going!"

She looked bemused. "Uhm Did you try upstairs?" She only received confusion. "Your room?" Their looks clearly gave away their response. She rolled her eyes at the absurdity and snapped. "Really, people! I am in the past, some twenty years before my birth where I don't know anyone and no one knows me. Where did you think I'd be?!" She walked on to her intended destination: the kitchen.

The sisters shared a look, embarrassed that the idea hadn't come to them and then stood to follow her. They found her bended over the open fridge. She took out several ingredients and took them to the counter.

Phoebe and the others were surprised to see some more floating behind her. "Don't you think that's personal gain?"

She didn't look up from her task. "I couldn't care less."

Piper frowned at how careless she seemed to be. "You don't care about what would happen to your powers if you abuse them?"

"I'm no ordinary witch so the old goats don't have any say on my powers."

The sisters' eyebrows went to their hairlines at that. "That's a bit presumptuous of you don't you think?"

At that comment, Piper and Phoebe sent Paige a dirty look but the one person targeted didn't blink an eye.

"Not presumptuous, no… just simple fact. Just imagine it: a mixture of the most rebellious of the Charmed Ones and a half demon. It makes one hell of a cocktail!"

Paige was about to give a comeback but Phoebe interrupted her. "What are you doing?"

"A little snack for when daddy wakes up. He'll need to eat something."

Phoebe found herself suddenly reminded of her fiancé's state. "How is he doing?"

For the first time since coming to the kitchen, Vicky took her eyes from her sandwich making to answer her mother. "He'll be fine. A good night of sleep and enough drink should get him back to shape. He didn't really get that these past few days. Possession would do that to you."

"Wait a minute, possession? What possession?"

At that, Vicky looked up sharply. "Yes, possession. What do you call having the Source of all evil in your head?!"

While Phoebe and Piper dropped their gazes to the floor, Paige faced her head on. "Oh I don't know, coming from an ex-demon hungry for power, I'd say making a deal with the devil!"

Paige's words were accompanied by the explosion of the light bulbs in the kitchen. The three sisters ducked while Vicky stood facing them, her face blank. She stared at them a while longer and then lifted the tray filled with sandwiches and bottles of water and faded with them.

Phoebe slowly got to her feet, her eyes never leaving the spot her future daughter had disappeared from.

She felt Piper's hand on her shoulder, squeezing it to get her attention but she didn't react. "Phoebs?"

But Phoebe didn't show any sign of acknowledgement. She left the kitchen and her sisters behind and went up the stairs, intending to get to her room and talk to her daughter.

Piper sighed and then looked to the left to find Paige looking apologetic. Piper knew she must be feeling very sorry but she didn't have the strength make her feel better. After what she and her husband had told her, she should have known better than to say those things in front of Phoebe and Vicky.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Phoebe came to a stop in front of the door to her bedroom. She stared at it, debating if she should go in considering her daughter's mood. Finally, she took a deep breath in and then slowly opened the door, stepping through it.

She came to a halt when she saw Cole lying on the bed and Vicky mopping his forehead with a white cloth. She looked him over from over Vicky's shoulder. He looked ill, his breathing erratic and sweating profusely.

When she was done, Vicky stood up and gave her mother a sign of the head to follow her in the corridor. Arms crossed, she leaned on the opposing wall to be able to keep an eye on her father through the door.

Phoebe fidgeted on the spot, wringing her fingers together. "So, how is he doing?"

"I told you, he'll be fine. It's just taking time for the powers to settle."

Phoebe did a double take, not sure she heard right. "Wait-wait, powers?" At Vicky's nod, she exploded. "Are kidding me?! That is the reason he was there in the first place!"

Not to be outdone, Vicky pushed back from the wall and faced Phoebe "You're right, that's the reason this is all happening: because you took his powers away. A part of him died and all he was left with was a _void_!"

That came out as a shock for Phoebe. Suddenly, everything became clear for her.

Vicky saw recognition in her mother's eyes. "Yes that's right. He was the most vulnerable when the Seer tricked him into taking in the hallow. If you lot hadn't vanquished Belthazor then the Source wouldn't have possessed him and everything would be alright. I just made sure the wizard left him with a few harmless powers."

Phoebe turned to look at Cole, tears flowing freely down her face. "Why didn't he tell me? I asked him over and over again if something was wrong and he just kept avoiding me!"

"He tried to." Phoebe faced her again. "Remember, every time you asked, he would start to say something and then he would get a really bad headache? Why do you think he made those excuses to get out of the house? If he stayed, he would have told you anyway and the Source would have killed you and your sisters. He was protecting you, all the while hoping against hope that you would see through it and save him."

Phoebe felt the guilt trying to swallow her up. She had had all the signs and hadn't seen anything. All she had thought was that he was hiding something from her instead of him being in danger.

Maybe Vicky was right, they were prejudiced. If she had noticed one of her sisters behaving strangely, she would have immediately assumed that a demon had something to do with it and try and find a solution to save her. But with Cole, it was the opposite. She hadn't had enough faith or trust in him and she became suspicious. When she had ignored her suspicions before she knew he was a demon, now she simply thought he had gone back to his old days or something similar.

She looked up only to find herself alone in the hallway. Vicky had gone back to tending to her father while she had been lost in her thoughts. He was finally up and consuming his food with Vicky's help.

She observed their interaction closely. Although Cole had met her just a few hours earlier and had barely talked to her, they acted as though they had known each other forever. He seemed so at ease with her that it surprised her. It had been a long time since Phoebe had seen him this carefree. Vicky was right, he hadn't been whole since Belthazor's vanquish.

Phoebe decided to leave them alone for the night. None of them seemed ready to speak to anyone else for now; they needed the time.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Cole slowly opened his eyes to find his own eyes staring right back at him. He found it really creepy. That was until a sharp pain in his head reminded him of where he was and what had happened earlier.

He tried to smile at Vicky who was sitting on a chair beside the bed but it came out more like a grimace. "Hey."

"Hey. How are you doing?"

He rubbed his forehead with a wince. "I have one hell of a headache."

"That's to be expected. Here, take these." She gave him some painkiller pills and a bottle of water.

He accepted them gratefully. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She Vicky gave him a smile. "You gotta eat to get your strength back."

He took the plate of sandwiches offered to him and began consuming them. "So, what happened downstairs after I passed out?"

Vicky shrugged, her own plate on her lap. "Nothing much. I got rid of our unwelcomed guests and then took you up here."

Cole looked up at her nonchalant tone, suspicious. "Really, you sure that's all that's happened?"

She dropped her gaze on her wringing hands. "Ok. I lost my temper and sort of… threw aunt Paige against the wall."

"Vicky!"

"I know!" She crossed her arms and pouted petulantly. "It's not my fault. You're not her favorite person and therefore, we're not her favorite nephews and nieces. She doesn't really try to hide it and I lose control over my powers every time. She does it even when she's never seen me before."

Cole gave his daughter a sad look. He couldn't believe that his and Paige's dislike of each other could have that effect on the witch's relationship with her nephews and nieces. "She's not my favorite person either but she's still your aunt."

"You don't know how it is, daddy. We're not half angels like her kids or aunt Piper's. Even if she tries to pass it off as a joke we're little demons for her."

He could see that she was getting upset over the subject and took her hand in his, squeezing it in comfort. "That'll just be another thing we'll have to change then." She gave him a grateful smile. "So, tell me more about yourself."

Vicky laughed. "You know, my siblings and I have this amazing gift of traveling through time and I'm really rubbish at it and keeping time intact. We have it since being very little and you always have to fetch us when we accidently travel to another time. But despite all that, there's one thing I know for sure: I can't give you all the answers about me, future consequences and all that. You'll just have to discover them the normal way. Believe me, it'll be more fun that way."

Cole laughed as she batted her eyes at him. "Somehow, I get the impression that you're very much of a handful."

She sniffed and crossed her arms again. "It's a genetic trait. You'll have to blame mom for that one."

That made Cole laugh harder. "Oh I've heard it all. She gave her grandmother a hard time when she was younger." He shook his head. "Anyway. How come you've got all these powers when I don't?"

"Oh. Even if you weren't Belthazor anymore your children would have inherited the powers. You were born with them, they are part of who you are. But that doesn't matter, you have much more than that."

"What do you mean?"

"The whole thing with the Source happened because you had lost a part of yourself, literally. It had left you vulnerable in every sense of the word but I changed that. You have powers now, more than before."

Cole shook his head in refusal. "You shouldn't have done that. My powers were the reason we had so much trouble before with your mother."

"No. The powers weren't the problem. Her wanting to change you was. You have to stop bending your life around the Charmed Ones. Do something for yourself for once."

Cole looked down and sighed. She was right. When he had no powers he did nothing but walk around the manor or get out of the way when there was a fight. He hated it but he did it because Phoebe told him to. He had no job, no friends nor family. All his life turned around Phoebe. At least when he was a demon he had a purpose.

He gave Vicky a fond smile. "You are more like your mother than I thought."

She beamed at him. "Thanks." She then became serious. "I'm not asking you to give up on mom. Heck that would be suicide on my part. I'm just saying, have a little more perspective, see what else is out there and then you can both move forward."

"I know you're right. You didn't hear me contradicting you, did you?" She shook her head no. "Now, since you can't tell me anything about you, tell me about these powers."

Again, she beamed at him before launching herself into a long tale. Cole listened, all the while committing her face and mannerism to his memory since he wouldn't get to know her for a long time. She was a talker, again a trait she got from Phoebe, and they spent the night doing just that.


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry for the late update, I had almost forgotten about this storry, being busy with personal matters.

I have to say though, it's gone farther than I had anticipated, thanks to your many reviews. Thank you all for liking my story.

**Chapter 12**

The residents of the Halliwell manor got up early the next morning. None of them had really been able to sleep fully, thinking about what had happened the day before.

For now, only Piper, Leo and Paige were sitting at the table ready to have breakfast. In her nervous state, Piper had gone into a frenzy and prepared food for an army.

The three of them sat there, cups of coffee in hands but apart from that, none of them were feeling that hungry.

The middle sister came down then, looking far worse than the others. "Morning."

She went to help herself to a cup of coffee before joining the trio at the table.

"Are Vicky and Cole up yet?"

Phoebe shrugged at Piper's question. "I suppose so. When I went up to check on them they were already gone."

Piper exchanged a look with the others. They didn't know what to think of that, none of them having heard father and daughter leaving the house.

"How are you doing, honey?"

"Could be better." Phoebe raked her hand in her hair. "I didn't sleep a wink last night."

"Yeah, you're not the only one."

Breakfast

was then spent in silence, none of them knowing what to say and simply lost in their own thoughts.

A couple of hours later and still, there was no sign of Cole and Vicky. Phoebe had spent half of that time looking out the window for any sign of their return. She was beyond worried now, scared that none of them would come back. She was either pacing her room or standing before the window. She had tried to keep busy by working on her column but it was no use. She couldn't concentrate enough to get any work done.

Phoebe wasn't the only one trying to keep busy: after having cleaned the house for over an hour, Piper found herself in the sunroom with Paige and Leo.

She hadn't seen her husband after he had left last night until that morning at breakfast. "So, what did the Elders say about our situation?"

Leo sighed. "Like I told you last night, they hadn't seen it coming. But they agreed with Vicky's theory that absorbing the hallow must have been the cause for the possession."

There was a snort. "I find that hard to believe."

"Well it's true, Paige. The Seer must have known that would happen, that's why she went Cole behind our backs. She knew that he would do anything to save Phoebe."

Piper agreed with her husband's assumption. "Yeah, that's always been his weakness: he doomed himself in wanting to protect Phoebe and us."

Phoebe came into the room then. "They're still not here yet?"

Piper looked at her sadly. "No, they're not. You should get some rest, you know? You don't look so good."

She sighed. "

I know but I can't seem to be able to."

"While we're all here, we should talk about what happened."

Phoebe was quick to jump to the occasion. "Yes. There are some important points that need to be addressed." She looked at all of them in turn. "First, we need to admit our part on what happened. About the whole Cole and the Source situation."

"Whoa! Stop there, Phoebe. None of us had any part to play in that. Possession or not, it was Cole's own fault for getting into the situation in the first place! If he had stayed away like we told him to, none of this would have happened!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Phoebe stared at her baby sister, not believing her ears.

"You're wrong, Paige. If I hadn't told him to stay away just because he had no powers he would have come to tell me about it. He chose to keep it a secret instead because he knew I wouldn't have agreed to it. Anyway, this all started because he lost a part of himself. He sacrificed everything to help us, to keep us safe and we did nothing to thank him back. I mean even when he was acting strange I jumped to the conclusion that he was hiding something from me. All the while he was hoping that I'd see through the possession and save him. He had faith in me and I did nothing to help him!"

The other three occupants of the room stared at her after her outburst. It seemed that she had a lot bottled up inside and she needed to let it out.

Phoebe stood up and started pacing the room. "And to think, I needed a teenager, my daughter from the future to open my eyes about the situation." She gave out a humorless laugh.

Piper sighed, choosing to get her own opinion in. "You can't blame yourself, Phoebe. None of us saw it, not even the Elders."

"Yeah, but the Elders don't live with him. They don't share a bed with him." She stopped and sent her elder sister a look full of desperation. "He was counting on me, Piper. The Source was taunting him in his head and Cole kept telling him that I wouldn't be fooled and I'd save him."

Piper melted at that and took her into her arms. "Oh, honey. Everything is gonna be ok. He'll understand, you'll see."

"I know you don't all agree with me but I think you're playing right into his game. Cole didn't need possession when he'd wanted to have powers all this time!"

Phoebe whirled around to face her other sister. "Ok, Paige. New rule: from now on there will be no badmouthing of Cole!"

"I'm only stating the truth, Phoebe!"

"No, you're not," Phoebe pushed on. She could barely contain her rage. "You most of all should be grateful for Cole being on our side, Paige. If it wasn't for him you wouldn't be where you are today. The Source would have killed you if Cole hadn't helped us save you, so stop attacking him whenever he makes a mistake, we all do."

Paige stood up too, facing Phoebe head on. "That was one mistake too many! He is a demon who's killed a hundred people and he won't be happy without his powers."

Phoebe stood there, unmoving and stared at her sister with unblinking eyes. Paige squirmed under her gaze, wondering what she was thinking exactly. It was a bit unnerving.

Finally, after a long silence, Phoebe sighed. "This is hopeless. Paige, I'm not asking you to like Cole or to be his best friend. What I'm asking of you however is that you keep your hostile opinions to yourself. I don't need them, none of us do."

"You can't be serious!" Paige's eyes opened wide, outrage lacing her tone.

"I am very serious about this, Paige. Cole and I are going to get married and we'll have a family together, Vicky's a living proof of that. You better get used to it and work on that attitude of yours."

She looked at her incredulously. "You're choosing him over your own sister?!"

"Once again, you don't get it. I am not choosing sides because there isn't one. We are going to be a family, all of us." Phoebe paused and looked at her. "Do you find it normal for a niece and her aunt to not get along so much so that she would lose control of her powers like that?"

Paige's gaze went to the floor, not knowing what to say but it didn't last long. "I'm sure Cole put those ideas into her head."

"Oh my god, Paige!" Phoebe grabbed her head in frustration. "This isn't about Cole, this is about you! Cole didn't have to put any ideas into anyone's head, you did that on your own. You don't even have the decency to watch your language in front of Vicky. You talk bad about her father while she's in the room. Don't you see how unhealthy that is? Obviously it's no different in the future because it's become second nature to her. Change your attitude and get started now!"

Before anyone could add anything, they heard the front door slam shut.

"Hello, anybody home?!"


End file.
